Consumption behavior | Consumption expenditure | Rate of household equipment

Consumption behavior

Growing sectors

The services sector has seen the fastest growth over the last ten years. This was across all sectors, with particular strength seen among business service companies and hotels and restaurants.

The 2012 London Olympics represent currently a high demand for infrastructure development and site construction etc., which will change closer to the date for sports equipment, security, catering etc. Opportunities exist in the following consumer sectors: clothing, computers and peripherals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, telecoms equipment, travel and tourism.

Consumer behavior

Consumers respond well to advertising and will buy if they see an advantage such as price, quality, superior design, branding or environmental benefits. After-sales service is important as consumers do not hesitate to complain and defend their rights.

Consumer profile and purchasing power

The UK has a growing population, which has increased faster in recent years. The UK population is ageing but not as fast as the populations of many other EU25 countries. In mid-2006, the average age was 39 years, an increase on 1971 when it was 34,1 years. Approximately one in five people in the UK were then aged under 16 and one in six people were aged 65 or over. With a stable, service-focused economy, high employment and long working hours, consumer income and expenditure has been rising in recent years. With the so-called ‘credit crunch', this is now slowing down.

The gap between ‘have' and ‘have not' is also widening. Therefore, the country presents a contrasted picture. This is illustrated in many ways: for example, while the country is highly urbanized, it places a high value on country living. Consumer loyalty has weakened due to increased mobility and easy accessibility to product information. Thus, consumers are increasingly shopping around for the best deals and stores offer loyalty schemes to keep their custom.

Consumer recourse to credit

UK consumers have a well-established “buy now, pay later” culture and borrow commonly, whether through mortgages (housing), personal loans (cars) or credit cards (everyday purchases). In 2007, the level of personal debt exceeded GDP. At this alarmingly high level, many find themselves unable to repay their loans.

Consumers associations

NCC
Which

Consumption expenditure

Source: World Bank

Definition: Purchasing power parity is the number of units of a country's currency required to buy the same amounts of goods and services in the domestic market as USD would buy in the United States.

Source:, last available data

Rate of household equipment

Source: National Statistics, last available data

Household equipment

Source: National Statistics, last available data

Source: International Telecom Union, last available data

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Last updates: September 2010